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Boston nonprofit turns down $250K in federal money to keep DEI
826 Boston operates six Writers' Rooms in Boston Public Schools with AmeriCorps members. But, the nonprofit won't apply for that federal funding this year.
A Boston nonprofit is rejecting $250,000 in federal grants to maintain their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies following orders from President Donald Trump to end such programs.
826 Boston, which is based in Roxbury, is a chapter of a national nonprofit supporting writing, tutoring, and publishing for elementary and secondary students. With federal funding, AmeriCorps members serve in the organization’s six Writers’ Rooms in Boston Public Schools.
“We made the difficult decision to end our partnership with AmeriCorps after this school year,” Executive Director Corey Yarbrough said in a video statement. “The federal requirements no longer align with our values, and the uncertainty of federal funding means we can’t rely on it to provide mission critical programs.”
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Yarbrough said withdrawing their application for funding for the AmeriCorps program, which put 11 workers in their Writers’ Rooms this year, puts a $250,000 hole in their budget. Most of the staff at AmericCorps, an independent federal agency that places individuals at local organizations nationwide, was put on administrative leave last week.
“Though we stand firm in this decision as an organization, it won’t be easy,” Yarbrough said. “We will need to replace close to $250,000 in federal funding, but with community, anything is possible, and we hope you will join our efforts to preserve our mission of amplifying youth voices and publishing diverse stories.”
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Trump signed an executive order in January “ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity,” which dismantled DEI initiatives within the federal government and targeted private sector policies.
826 Boston plans to pivot and create new staff positions to replace AmeriCorps members, who will serve out the rest of the school year. In a statement, the organization said Trump’s restrictions on DEI initiatives threatens 826 Boston’s safe space for student writers exploring any topic.
The New Commonwealth Fund, a philanthropic organization of Black and Latino leaders also based in Roxbury, told a Boston Globe columnist that its board awarded 826 Boston a $75,000 grant.
“I’m hugely both impressed and also in awe,” New Commonwealth Fund President Makeeba McCreary told the Globe. “Really kudos to his board and to him for having that kind of courage to say ‘we’re going to find another way, we don’t ever have to succumb to checking a box that we don’t believe in.”
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